Mobile food distributions help get large amounts of food to the community quickly. In just a few hours, volunteers hand out tens of thousands of pounds of nutritious food to neighbors.
Thanks to donations from the community and grocery stores like Walmart and Sam’s Club, the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida can give out much more fresh food to neighbors than they could without this support.
“Mobile food drops are so efficient because they provide a lot of food directly into the community,” said William Linaja, lead agency relations coordinator. “It could be at a place of worship, a rec center, or a park nearby. At these locations, we send a truck full of tens of thousands of pounds of food — good nutritious food such as fresh vegetables, fresh fruit, dairy and meat.”
Second Harvest works with community feeding partners to organize mobile distributions. William calls these partners “the smiling faces who serve neighbors facing hunger.”
Wings of Faith, a feeding partner in Ocala, holds mobile distributions twice a month, helping 400 to 500 families each time. At a recent event, dozens of volunteers unloaded a semitruck with about 37,000 pounds of produce, meat, dairy, and shelf-stable foods at a local sports complex. Neighbors waited in their cars, some arriving as early as 2 a.m.
Dale Broom, missions pastor at Wings of Faith, oversees the food ministry. He said that campaigns like Walmart and Sam’s Club’s Fight Hunger. Spark Change. make sure all donations go back into the local community to help neighbors in Ocala and across Central Florida.
“This truck made available to us means someone in our community has made donations,” Dale said. “As people give, the money from those local stores goes into food that is turned around and is made available. It’s turned around to bless the (neighbors facing hunger) in our area. This is all made available through our partnerships, people who donate and our volunteers who come here to serve.”
He said it’s important to him to provide healthy food for children, families, and seniors facing hunger, and the vast majority of the food distributed by Wings of Faith consistently meets USDA standards for health. Dale was amazed by the amount of fresh produce at the recent distribution.
“We get tons and tons of produce,” he said. “I believe today alone, we have oranges, we have grapefruit, we have cabbage, we have broccoli, we have cauliflower, we have carrots, we have regular potatoes, red potatoes, and we have sweet potatoes. There’s zucchini; there’s squash. There are cucumbers and big bags of onions.”
He said the food helps neighbors facing food insecurity make it through the month financially.
“I was walking through the line earlier this morning, talking with our neighbors,” Dale said. “We have conversations, and it is always, ‘Pastor, thank you. Thank you to the people who provided the food today, because without this, we wouldn’t be able to make it.’”
William said that financial support, grants, and campaigns like Fight Hunger. Spark Change. help Second Harvest provide food for even more meals, including those given out through mobile distributions to neighbors and friends facing hunger.
“Every dollar through this campaign at your local grocery store provides meals and stays directly here in Central Florida,” he said. “That means your neighbor, the people around you, really get to be secure in their next meal. They don't have to think about as much whether they have to trade food for medicine or food for rent – things that really bite at your budget nowadays. So, your support goes so far in making that a reality.”
You can support the Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign by shopping in-store, online, or by donating at checkout. Every dollar you give stays in your local community to fight hunger, feed hope, and help neighbors thrive.
